Mining Surveillance System (MSS) is a satellite-based monitoring system which aims to establish a regime of responsive mineral administration by curbing instances of illegal mining activity through automatic remote sensing detection technology has covered a total area of 3,994.87 hectares.
In the initial phase, a total of 296 triggers across the country covering a total area of 3,994.87 hectares wherein, 48 unauthorized mining have been detected after inspection of the triggers by the state government officials.
Ministry of Mines and Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) have developed the MSS, with assistance from Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
The system works on the basic premise that most minerals occur in the continuity and their occurrence is not limited to the lease area but is likely to extend in the vicinity. The MSS checks a region of 500 meters around the existing mining lease boundary to search for any unusual activity which is likely to be illegal mining. Any discrepancy is found is flagged-off as a trigger.
The MSS is a transparent and bias-free system, having a quicker response time and capability of effective follow-up. The deterrence effect of ‘Eyes watching from the Sky’ would be extremely fruitful in curbing instances of illegal mining.
A user friendly mobile app for MSS has been created and launched for enabling public participation in assisting the governments endeavor to curb illegal mining which was being used by the inspecting officials to submit compliance reports of their inspections.
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